Lotus Juice, Lyn and Azumi Takashi brought a fiery show to Persona LIVE at the Dolby Theater — a feat that, for a while, they would’ve “never seen coming,” as per the hook of the video game franchise’s most famous battle theme, “Last Surprise.” Live concerts from the “Persona” series have been happening for nearly 20 years, but Friday and Saturday’s concerts were the first ever for the franchise in the United States.
“Persona,” a spin-off of ATLUS’ trademark JRPG series “Shin Megami Tensei,” has skyrocketed in popularity since the release of 2016’s “Persona 5,” surpassing its source material in cultural relevance. Its blend of slice-of-life and traditional turn-based gameplay has created a JRPG titan. On Saturday, a few thousand “Persona” fans gathered to hear the franchise’s most iconic voices bring the screen to the stage.
“Everyone’s here for the vocalist and for the love of the game and the series. I think that’s just really something beautiful,” Reyes said, a fan from Orange County who attended the show.
“Persona” has some of the most popular music in gaming. “It’s Going Down Now,” a track from its latest entry, “Persona 3 Reload,” has surpassed more than 100 million streams on Spotify. The music for the games is just as notorious as the narratives within them — if not more.
“There’s, you know, the running joke of, I paid $50 for a soundtrack, and the game came free,” said Melvin Cuezzi, a fan who flew in from Chicago for the show.
The nearly two-hour performance was packed with many of the acid-jazz, rock and J-Pop classics from “Persona 5” and “Persona 3 Reload” that fans have grown to adore.
Lyn, the main vocalist in “Persona 5 Royal,” kicked things off with the game’s opening “Colors Flying High.” She then cycled through other fan-favorites, such as “Life Will Change,” “Rivers in the Desert” and “Take Over,” while dancers, dressed as the game’s titular “Phantom Thieves,” performed in the background.
“Having the dancers come out was pretty cool … It was an awesome experience,” Gavin Farrell, another attendee, said.
Following the conclusion of her performance of “Hoshi To Bokura To,” the ending theme of “Persona 5,” Lotus Juice and Azumi Takashi stole the show with performances of songs from Persona 3 Reload — the title commonly hailed as the franchise’s most emotional entry.
When Reyes heard “Color Your Night,” the game’s primary nighttime theme live, it brought him to tears.
“There was a time where I just was really feeling the most in my life. I was meeting people, going out, and when all of it’s over, I just put on that song and I’m just living. This is life, and I’m glad to be living it,” Reyes said.
To its dedicated fans, the connection they have to the franchise is much deeper. These are some of the longest narrative gaming experiences — ”Howlongtobeat” lists the average playtime for “Persona 5 Royal” at 123 hours. The composition of these games — stories, music and characters — touches them on an emotional level.
“Another great thing about Persona is that it helped me embrace who I am as a person, but also the things that I enjoy,” Cuezzi said.
Reyes also shared a similar sentiment, as he played endlessly to beat the main story of “Persona 3 Reload” before a signing when the cast of voice actors was in his hometown. When he did, the significance of the moment once again brought him to tears.
“I was crying, man, it was the day of the signing and everything. I was still crying. And you know what? I cried again meeting them too. It was amazing. And I think every time I hear that song, I’m reminded of that,” Reyes said.
While the show was overall a hit amongst fans, Farrell said they were disappointed at the exclusion of music from “Persona 4 Golden,” which was the only modern Persona game not featured.
However, despite the exclusion of the upbeat tracks from ATLUS’ small-town murder mystery, and cult-classics like Persona 5’s “Whims of Fate,” fans said they still left the event satisfied — happy not only with hearing some of their favorites, but also to get the chance to congregate with a community that cares so deeply about the franchise.
“I’ve been to so many different [conventions] and different experiences that have personal fans, but not to this extent,” Reyes said. “When you look around and you see someone that has a favorite character just like you, or has a favorite song just like you, you can both embrace that here at the concert, I think it’s just something really magical and beautiful.”
At the end of the show, performers Lotus Juice and Lyn expressed their gratitude for their American fans and promised that they would bring the phenomenon back to the states.
Susana, who was dressed in “Phantom Thief” cosplay alongside her friend Vienna, put it best:
“If you’re a Persona fan, you have to come see this at least once in your lifetime. Save up your money. Save your coins. Fly out. You have to come see this.”